Pointed arches, ribbed vaults, stained glass, ornate tracery are all found in the Gothic buildings built from the mid-12th to the 16th century. I was lucky to grow up in a family of history lovers who often decided a rainy day meant a trip to one of these spectacular cathedrals or castles. These socks are not based on any one place but remind me of sites around the UK from cathedrals such as Canterbury, York Minster, and St Giles in Edinburgh to castles such as Alnwick, Bodiam, and Pembroke.

Method: These stranded colorwork socks are knit in the round from the cuff down. They have an Eye of Partridge heel flap, a round heel and gusset decreases placed on the sole.

These socks can be knitted on dpns, by magic loop, or on a short circular (in which case you will still need dpns for the heel and toe decreases).

Please note the colorwork design in this pattern is charted not written out. You need to be prepared to read and work from charts in order to enjoy knitting this design.

Size: This pattern is written in 3 sizes referred to throughout the pattern as S, M, and L. All instructions that differ depending on the size you are knitting are color coded.

Yarn: You can use any 4 ply (fingering) sock yarn that you like and with which you can get tension/ gauge.
Please note I do not recommend using yarns with a high cotton content as cotton doesn’t stretch as much as other fibers and this will affect the fit of your socks.

This is a great pattern to experiment with color and use mini skeins or any leftovers lurking in your stash. Be creative, have fun, but keep in mind changes will affect yardage and number of ends to weave in. The amounts of each color required will depend on how many colors you pick, where you choose to use them in the sock, and which size you are knitting.
As a guide to work in two colors:
MC – 140 (300, 340) metres, 153 (328, 371) yards
CC1 – 180 (130, 155) metres, 197 (142, 170) yards